


lightning in a bottle

by SkatingSquids (ShippingEverything)



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: (but they don't play any hockey bc its the offseason), Alternate Universe - Magical Realism, Columbus Blue Jackets, Hockey but with some supernatural powers basically, Multi, Polyamory Negotiations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-03-30 18:33:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13957515
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShippingEverything/pseuds/SkatingSquids
Summary: Bob comes back early from vacation to help Milana learn how to control her powers, and Nick is incapable of recognizing a crush





	lightning in a bottle

**Author's Note:**

  * For [yeswayappianway](https://archiveofourown.org/users/yeswayappianway/gifts).



> yes, the title is from electric love by borns
> 
> anyway! i had like 9 ideas that i scrapped and you’re 100% going to get a monster themed bjork/sedsy fic from me Eventually, but for now, i hope you enjoy this! (and that it breaks any and all curses on this poor poor team). 
> 
> also idk if this is like necessary but if you found this by googling yourself, i'd recommend pressing that back button because it's less embarrassing for both of us that way, but i'm certainly not your parent. just don't sue me or anything i guess

The first time Milana catches fire, Nick immediately thinks _Thank god she’s not on oxygen anymore_ , rapidly followed by a cacophony of Kill Bill alarms and _MY DAUGHTER IS ON FIRE_.

“Milana!” He yells, running towards her, but it’s apparently unnecessary: the flames licking up her arm flicker and die as she turns to him. Nick stares at her, wide eyed and open mouthed. “Are you okay?”

Milana seems to be… absolutely fine, if annoyed that her dad interrupted her watching of _PJ Masks_. “Yes, daddy.”

“But you were just,” Nick pauses, unsure how to phrase it. It’s not unnatural for people to have _some_ sort of quirk, he has just enough inhuman strength that he has to wear a cancelling bracelet during games and Janelle can hover up to a foot off of any surface she’s on, but elemental powers are something else, something Nick has no experience with. He wishes Janelle and he hadn’t agreed to split the kids today, or that he’d chosen to watch Landon, or that Janelle just hadn’t gone to the store. “Have you noticed anything new happening lately, sweetie?”

She thinks about it for a moment. “I melted Fairiella before.”

She says it so calmly and matter-of-factly that it throws Nick off for a second. He’d read all the parenting books when Janelle was pregnant, but the idea of his daughter presenting a power at least a day ago (He’s figured out that _before_ can mean anything from ten minutes ago to a year, but he doubts that Janelle would’ve missed it for more than a day) and not even thinking it worth mentioning isn’t what he expected; then again, Nick’s beginning to realize that _nothing_ with Milana is like what he expected. Nick looks at her, at the slight scorch marks on her luckily flame-resistant shirt, and sighs deeply. As she turns back to her show, bored of him, and he pulls out his phone.

Nick sends Janelle _**Did you know that our daughter can start fires? Is this from your side?**_ and sends the Captains group chat _**Milana just burst into flames**_. Boone just sends a quick _**yikes**_ and Dubi sends back a string of emojis, most of which Nick is pretty sure that Dubi doesn’t even understand, but Jack responds with a sensible _**She okay?**_ Nick sighs again and fills them in on how she’d been fine but he’s not sure that he’ll survive raising an elemental, and after many redirects in conversation, someone eventually suggests _**Have you called Bob?**_

Which, no, Nick hadn’t, because he’s been a busy freaking out and also because he’s not entirely sure where Bob is right now, but knows that it’s not Ohio. As he’s typing this into the chat, his phone rings. 

“Hey, hon-”

 _“She_ what _?”_ Janelle cuts him off, sounding just as shocked as Nick had. 

He nods, through she can’t see, “She was sitting there, watching her TV show, and her arm just _poof_ went up in flames. Stopped when she started talking to me.”

Janelle lets out a shaky sigh and Nick relates. There’s the ambient noise of people in the background, and closer, Landon’s toddler babbling. _“But she’s fine? Her power’s just showing up?”_

“Well,” Nick says, “She said that she’d torched one of her toys too, ‘before’, so I don’t know how long she’s been able to do this, but...”

 _“Thank god she didn’t present while she was on oxygen,”_ Janelle says, and Nick feels a rush of affection for his wife. _“Well, I’ll be home soon, try and keep her out of trouble and away from anything flammable. We’ll be home soon. Love you.”_

“Love you too,” He responds, hanging up. He goes to sit next to Milana, wanting to be close if it happens again. She squints at him for a moment before launching into a detailed recap of the episode and apparently storyline of _PJ Masks_ and, though Nick’s _certain_ he sees sparks when she gets too excited, she doesn’t catch fire again.

**_[_ **

Later that night, before he goes to bed, he remembers the advice from his As and shoots a quick _**Milana has fire powers, any elemental control tips?**_ to Bob. The next morning he wakes up to a confusingly vague _**i can do better than tips )))**_

_**]** _

* * *

Two days later (Two days of watching Milana closely, of trying to figure out what they’d do for school for her next year, of buying her a whole new special wardrobe that she mostly hated), someone knocks on his door. Nick, who’s trying to get Landon to eat something that’s not spaghetti or dinosaur chicken nuggets, lets Janelle get it. He vaguely hears her talking to someone, before she comes back into the dining room with-

“ _Bob_?”

Bob grins at him, the same way he does after a particularly good save. Janelle is smiling too, “Sergei said he’d teach Milana a couple control tips.”

Nick raises his eyebrows. “I thought you were on vacation.”

“Olga and I are flexible,” Bob says with a shrug, “Go on vacation every year. If captain needs help, we can postpone.” 

“I’ll have to make it up to you two,” Janelle says, gently taking one of Bob’s hands in both of hers for a moment before freeing Landon from his high chair (Despite Nick’s gentle _“Hey!”_ ) and drifting off the call Milana from the living room. 

“Did you get a suppressor yet?” Bob asks, tugging at the golden chain around his neck. Like most Russian hockey players, Bob is all but attached to the chain, but his also has a power cancelling rune carved into it. 

Nick shakes his head, “We know she’ll need one when she goes back to school, but we thought that at least for the summer…” 

Nick trails off. Normally, he’d say _At least for the summer, she should get to be free_ , but there are a lot of different philosophies around danger and powers, elemental ones especially, and though Nick’s always been of the belief that people should have to spend as little time in cancelling gear as possible, he doesn’t want Bob to think he’s judging their obviously different beliefs. Nick knows that Bob has some sort of electric power, but it never interferes with the game or the team and Bob _does_ wear a constant suppressor, so he’s never made it his business to pry.

Bob tilts his head to the side, looking at Nick like he can read all of that on him. “That is fine. I wear one because,” Bob pauses long enough that Nick almost tells him to drop it, before looking down at the floor before deciding something and reaching up to take the necklace off. Within a second, his whole body is crackling with bright arcs of electricity. He looks up at Nick and his normally deep blue eyes look brighter, more supercharged. Nick’s heart skips, faced with that display of pure power. He doesn’t know what his face does, but it’s enough to make Bob laugh and slide back on his necklace. 

“And that is with training for control,” Bob explains, “It’s more easier when it’s less wet, but still, always-”

“Charged up?” Nick offers, shaking away the awe and offering Bob a smile, “Maybe you should’ve gone to Tampa Bay, eh?”

Bob laughs, but before he can respond, Milana rushes in and takes his attention. Bob kneels down to talk to her as Janelle leans on the table beside where Nick’s sitting, Landon on one hip. She grabs one of the apple slices Nick had been trying (and failing) to feed Landon and easily feeds it to him. On the floor, Bob is asking gentle questions and Milana is messily outlining everything she can think of about her new powers, something that Nick had been having trouble getting her to articulate, but Bob’s suggestions for words and soft directions when she gets off topic seem to be doing to trick. Nick watches both of these things and thinks about how lucky he is to have these people supporting him that excel where he couldn’t.

_**[** _

The next morning, Janelle and Nick officially ask Milana if she’d be okay with Bob teaching her control. 

“You don’t have to say yes, sweetie,” Nick assures her. 

“Of _course_ I want Uncle Bob to teach me,” Milana says, with a _look_ , one she definitely learned from her mother, that says _Why would you even ask that_. “He’s the best,”

Janelle and Nick laugh, Janelle almost definitely at him and Nick in relief. That’s that, then.

_**]** _

* * *

Nick all but strong-arms Bob and Olga into dinner. Mostly because he and Janelle feel indebted to him, Milana has improved so much that Bob’s been teaching her tricks on the side (Even if she keeps lighting her fingers on fire and waving them a bit _too_ close to Landon now), but also because well, it’s been really nice to see Bob on a regular, relaxed basis. It’s not that Nick and Bob never hang out outside the rink, because that’d be ridiculous, but Bob tends to keep more to himself and when Nick’s home he’s usually busy being an actual father _and_ making sure Dubi and the rookies don’t get into (too much) trouble to actually spend time relaxing; these last few days, it’s been so nice to be able to just chat about life instead of just games or season stressors or even their other teammates. It’s different from the locker room, from the bench, from any other time. Besides, Bob wouldn’t even be back right now if Nick hadn’t asked for his help. 

And Bob’s been a _huge_ help. When Bob’s in full teaching form—grinning and adjusting Milana’s stance as he leads her through breathing exercises, sparking as he displays what he can do with his own power—it’s… breathtaking, really. It’s not the same seriousness that Bob shows on the ice but it’s more intense than the jovial attitude that he addresses everyday life with. Nick’s not sure which version of Bob he finds most fascinating. 

At dinner, Olga is charming, as always, Bob chirps Nick and Milana in turn, and everyone has a fantastic time. As the Bobrovsky’s leave, something that happens only after Milana continues to fall asleep mid-sentence but wake up every time someone tries to carry her up to bed and demand to stay up until Bob leaves, Bob stops Nick.

“Fliggy, I,” Bob says, then pauses, choosing his words, “Olga and I want to thank you. We are not often having chance to spend time with other couples, besides holidays and Artemi, and this has been… nice.”

Bob’s eyes are sincere and a little embarrassed. He takes Nick’s hand and Nick swears he feels a spark, even though he can see the bright gold of the chain around Bob’s neck. Nick clears his throat and looks away. 

“It’s no problem, we love having you around,” Nick says, and Bob’s eyes crinkling around the edges as he smiles. Bob squeezes once more and leaves, promising that he and Olga will have to do this again. 

Later, as Nick and Janelle are getting ready for bed, Janelle turns to him and says out of the blue, “Nick, do you remember when we talked about opening our marriage? About our lists?”

Nick is so shocked that he almost drops his watch. He flushes as Janelle’s look becomes knowing, though he’s not sure why. 

He does remember, because it was both the worst and best thing he’d ever done with his wife: actually going through and naming people that he’d be okay with his wife sleeping with (Or that his wife would be okay with him sleeping with) had been exhilarating, if embarrassingly revealing. “Yeah?”

“You know, we can edit those, right? For example, if you or I had a… _coworker_ who you hadn’t considered before but wanted to add to the list now, that’s fine.”

Nick would be lying to say that he hadn’t considered it before, especially when Luc was wandering around the locker room with painfully obvious hearts in his eyes for each and every one of his new teammates, but still, “You trying to trade me in for a newer model?”

He smiles at her so it’s obvious he’s joking, but even as Janelle kisses him consolingly her face still has an edge of something else on it. 

“Of course not,” She says, but she still just _looks_ at him. He looks back, bewildered. She sighs, and Nick suddenly feels out of depth, like they’re running plays but he’s not even sure what position he’s in, much less what he’s supposed to be doing. 

“Nevermind, hon,” She says, kissing him again, but he still feels like he’s missing something for the rest of the night.

_**[** _

Nick drums his fingers on the table. This is absolutely none of his business. Still, he can’t stop himself from typing _**Did you know Bob calls Bread by his first name?**_ to Dubi. Dubi sends back a string of emojis and Nick just barely resists the urge to verbally groan. _**Stop hanging out with Sonny**_ , he types instead, and Dubi quickly responds _**you didnt hear this from me but you should definitely ask bread about what happened on their florida vacation its [fire emoji]**_

Nick doesn’t ask, because this is _not even his business_ and asking the team gossip was already too much, but he still can’t push it completely out of his mind. Did Dubi mean that it had been, as the kids said, “lit”? Or did the emoji mean that the story was _hot_? Nick didn’t call any of his teammates who had nicknames by their first names, no matter how long he’d known them, there was just something so… intimate, almost, about it. Nick bit his lip, wondering just how close Bread and Bob had gotten, wondering if Bread called Bob _“Sergei”_ , wondering why any of this even mattered to him. His fingertips continued to drum against the table almost automatically, making the slightest divots where they continuously fell.

It's really none of his business.

_**]** _

* * *

Summer passes quickly. It all blends together in a mess of Milana showing off her new control, and the Bobrovsky’s coming over more and more often, and Landon toddling around and getting into everything, and Bob chirping Nick relentlessly, and Nick lifting up furniture to clean and retrieve forgotten toys, and Bob becoming nearly a permanent fixture in the Foligno household, and-

It just all goes really fast. 

Soon enough, it’s time to go shopping, for both regular school supplies and a suppressor for Milana. Janelle and Nick had explained to her, many times, why exactly a suppressor was necessary for school, even with all her training. She’s still so young and so easily emotionally swayed, little things like lost toys and naptime enough to make her throw tantrums. Still, when they get to the mall and part ways (Landon and Janelle off to the teacher supply store, Bob, Nick, and Milana off to the jeweller that touches up Nick’s own enchantments), Milana seems to have forgotten all of that. Her initial excitement for a _bracelet of her very own_ as they entered the shop has been tempered by the re-realization that it will restrict her shiny new powers; despite how many times Nick assures her that anything they get will be extra pretty and fairly easily removable, she’s resolute in her new choice: she doesn’t even _want_ to go to school anymore if she has to wear a suppressor. Nick runs a hand over his face, two parts exasperation with her for being so dramatic and one part exasperation of himself for partially agreeing with her. He’s bending down to her level to try and negotiate whenBob kneels down next to Nick. 

“Milana,” He says very seriously, “Why do you not want a bracelet?”

“I don’t want to lose my power,” She says. 

“Honey, you _won’t_ ,” Nick starts, but Bob cuts him off.

“You will. I think it is different, for the elements, but it feels like it is lost sometimes when you wear a suppressor,” Bob says, and Milana looks even closer to panic than before. Before Nick can say anything, though, Bob continues, “But do you know why I wear one, little one?”

Milana looks weary, but she still asks, “Why?”

“To protect. If I didn’t wear it, I would hurt those I love.” Bob answers simply.

“But isn’t it scary?” Milana asks, hushed like she doesn’t want Nick to hear, “Aren’t you afraid it won’t come back?”

Bob shakes his head, “I know that it’s always there, waiting for me, and your elements will be the same. I have no doubt about it.”

Milana bites her thumb, looking more swayed than before but still unsure. 

“Because of suppressor, I can do _this_ ,” Bob says, before gently poking at Milana’s side to giggles. “Without it… I couldn’t interact with things I love.”

As he says this, Bob moves his other hand to rest lightly on Nick’s knee. Nick’s breath catches. _Things he-_

Something expands in Nick’s chest, and he’s suddenly breathless. Bob notices, because he moves his hand and turns to look at Nick questioningly, but Nick just shakes his head. _Things he loves_ , Nick thinks on repeat and decides that this is a conversation for later, ideally much later, once he’s had time to process it. 

They lead a newly ready Milana to the enchanting jeweller and once she’s significantly busy being charmed with fun designs and Nick and breathe again, he asks, “When you said ‘elements’ earlier, you just meant the fire, right? She’s not going to have _more_ elemental powers, right?”

Bob hums, but not reassuringly. 

“ _Bob_ ,” Nick says, “Tell me my daughter isn’t going to spontaneously develop more ridiculously powerful abilities. Please.”

Bob taps the side of his nose. “Instructors must have their secrets, yes?”

“But not about this,” Nick tries to argue, but he knows it’s a losing battle. _This was definitely not in the parenting books_ , he groans internally before joining Milana to choose a bracelet. He supposes he should at least be grateful that his parenting experience hasn’t been _boring_.

_**[** _

That night, Nick folds Janelle into his arms and says, “I think I like Bob.”

She doesn’t bring up their previous conversation and she doesn’t say _I told you so_ , but she pulls away enough to give him a _look_ that portrays all that and more.

They pull out the lists and add _Sergei Bobrovsky_ to both of them, and, after a few minutes of deliberation, _Olga Bobrovsky_ joins it. 

“You never know,” Janelle says, but Nick gets the distinct impression that he’s just beginning to scratch the surface of something that Janelle has already thought deeply about. 

“You’re my smarter half,” He says, both in lieu of anything else and because it’s definitely true. 

Janelle laughs, “We all know that.”

“I love you.”

“Love you too.”

_**]** _

* * *

Now that Nick knows he has feelings for Bob, and is fairly sure that Bob has feelings for him as well, he’s not sure where to go. He’s become almost hyperaware of Bob’s presence and catches himself preening, like a middle schooler with a messy first infatuation. It’s been a while, but Nick’s pretty sure he hadn’t been this useless around Janelle. 

“You were,” Janelle had said, when he brought it up, but she still kissed him on the forehead. “You’ll get it, you just have to go at your own pace.” 

Nick knows that he isn’t good at conversations about relationships. Janelle had to ask him out and now it’s taken him months to realize he liked Bob; he can admit that it’s not his area of expertise, but this is embarrassing. He ends up staring at Bob, sitting across the table as they look over some pre-season stuff. Eventually, Bob looks up from his work, raising an eyebrow. This isn’t the first time Nick’s been caught staring since the jewellery shop, and it’s not likely to be the last.

“Can I,” Nick starts the question and lets it stutter to a halt. Bob tilts his head but waits. “Can I try something?”

“Do I get to know what the thing is?” Bob asks. Nick swallows. 

“I’ll let you know if I can actually work up the strength to do it,” Nick answers honestly. 

Bob thinks about it for a second, then nods. “Within reason.”

“Alright,” Nick says, then again when he can’t make himself move, “Alright.”

He stands and moves, stiffly, to Bob’s side of the table. He pulls out a chair and places it so he can face Bob. Nothing happens.

“I think,” Nick says after a far too long silence, “I like you.”

Bob’s stays carefully neutral. His voice sounds almost flat when he speaks, “You mean-”

“Like I- _Jesus Christ, I sound like a fucking kid_ -” Nick huffs, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a deep breath. “I like you as more than just a friend and teammate. I like you a lot. And I think you like me too.”

When Nick opens his eyes, Bob’s face isn’t neutral anymore. It’s bright, almost blinding. Nick can read his happiness in the tilt of his mouth, the crinkles around his eyes, the shine of his eyes. Nick wonders how it took so long for him to realize. 

“You’re right,” Bob says, “It’s, hm, ‘not buddies,’ as they say.”

“I- what? People still say that?” Nick asks, then realizes that he’d rather continue this conversation than figure out who’s been teaching Bob slang, “Nevermind. Just, what should we do now?”

Bob hums softly, considering. “I would like to kiss you.”

And Nick- Well, he’s not going to deny an invitation like that. 

When he kisses Bob the first time, it’s not life-changing. There aren’t fireworks or symphonies. The second kiss though—when Bob threads his fingers through Nick’s hair, when Bob teases his tongue into Nick’s mouth, when Nick bites and licks into Bob, when the bubble in Nick's chest pops and something clicks into place, _finally_ —is different.

When Nick finally pulls back, feeling elated and terrified and a little like he’s taken a spin in an electric chair. “That was- I mean- _Sergei_.”

“Nick,” Sergei replies, grinning like the sun breaking through a storm, before kissing Nick again.

And, well. That’s that, then.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you so much for reading!! i hope i was able to satisfy your need for the hockey dads to do something other than parent their hockey kids (even if... i did that by having them parent a literal kid......... sorry)


End file.
